Healing Heart
by TinyBootedFoot
Summary: Born into a family with strange healing powers and the ability to manipulate nature, Kaiya must follow in her mother's footsteps and become Sesshomaru's new personal healer-and with no decent training, it's not an easy name to live up to. Not a demon but not quite human either, Kaiya struggles to find her place in the demon lord's life; which she finds just might lie in his heart.
1. Prologue

Here's my first attempt at a fan fiction :3 please tell me what you think!

I do not own anything except my own original characters.

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Healing Heart

Prologue

Thirteen Years Ago

Hushed whispers at the door intrigued the not-quite-sleeping child's ears. She opened one eye cautiously, and upon doing so saw that the door was opened just a crack. She could just make out the shadows and voices of two adults, and although she immediately recognized one of the hushed voices as her mother's, the other was lost on her—though she was sure it was just one of the castle's many servants. The girl opened her other eye and sat up slowly and quietly, trying to focus all of her attention on hearing what was being said behind the door. However, her young ears were neither adequately developed nor trained to make out the conversation that was just beyond her reach. Her heart jumped as she heard the door start to slide open, and she quickly ducked back into bed, pulling the covers over her shoulder and shutting her eyes tight.

"Give me a moment to gather my supplies," her mother's voice said quietly and softly.

"Of course. I'll wait for you in the hall," a husky voice replied.

The little girl waited until she heard the door slide shut before she sat up in the bed, her eyes searching for her mother's figure. "Mama? What's happening, mama?" cried her soft little voice.

Her mother turned her attention to the tiny child in the bed, and smiled softly before sitting on the edge next to her daughter. "It's okay my love," she ran her hand comfortingly over the child's hair, "Lord Sesshomaru has returned and requires my assistance. Go back to sleep my angel, I will be back shortly." She kissed the young girl's forehead before sliding off the bed, and grabbed the rather small wooden box that contained her medical supplies. She glanced back at her daughter, who was again laying with the blanket pulled over her and her little eyes closed tight, and smiled sweetly before leaving the room as quietly as she possibly could.

The young child, curious as to why her mother was needed so late at night, didn't know any better than to sit right back up and swing her legs over the edge of the bed, waiting for her tiny feet to touch the floor before completely sliding off. She tip-toed to the door, and used all of her strength to slide it open just enough for her tiny frame to squeeze through.

She was not used to roaming the castle alone—especially not in the dead of night. The long and narrow hallway was barely lit by candlelight, and though the darkness unsettled her, she ran, almost in a skipping fashion, in the direction of which she could just barely make out whispers. Her bare little feet made soft thuds against the hard floor as she ran, placing most of the pressure of her small body on her toes. Her long, blonde, curly hair was loose and bounced with each step she took, her bangs not quite long enough to fall in her eyes.

It wasn't long before she came across a door with golden light pouring out from behind it, emerging from the small crack where it had been left open. She walked over to the door as quietly as she could, pressing her small hands against it as she peered into the room. As the light met her eye, she blinked a few times to try to get used to the new and sudden illumination. When the light was comfortable to her eyes and she could see again, the first face she recognized was her mother's; her eyes narrowed in concentration as she leaned next to the bed, addressing the wounds of the man lying on the bed. She recognized the man on the bed immediately as Lord Sesshomaru—the lord of the castle. Sitting against the wall not far away was the small demon that the girl always seen following Lord Sesshomaru—she believed his name to be Jaken. No one else in the room was particularly familiar to the child's eyes. She leaned a little bit closer in attempt to see more, when suddenly she heard a soft but stern voice speak.

"There is a child outside the door," Sesshomaru said. He had known she was there—he could smell her—immediately, but paid no mind to it until the smell did not disappear.

"A child! What is a child doing this late at night, outside the door of Lord Sesshomaru? I will take care of this at once milord!" Jaken yelled, jumping up from his resting spot. The child's eyes went wide with fear as the small demon angrily snapped the door open.

"Kaiya?" her mother's voice questioned with worry. Upon hearing her name, the young child immediately ran to her mother's side, hiding behind her for protection.

"She is yours," Sesshomaru stated with no hint of a question mixed in. He watched intently as the young child moved her head to see what was happening. His gaze locked on her large, bright green eyes that were lined with lengthy eyelashes and shadowed in a soft peach color that blended easily and softly into her milky skin. She quickly ducked back behind her mother, her arms wrapped around her left leg.

"I am sorry Lord Sesshomaru, I did not know she followed me," the girl listened as her mother begged for his forgiveness.

"She is like you?" Sesshomaru questioned, not bothering to clarify his question as he knew the woman understood.

Immediately relieved that he was not angry, she replied, "Yes milord, although she is too young to fully understand and master her talent."

"She must learn eventually," Sesshomaru began, "she may stay, and learn from you."

The woman smiled in gratitude and bowed her head, "Thank you, milord."


	2. A Childhood Ended

So I wanted to make chapter one start with present day, but when I wrote it it felt like I was having to add too much in, to the point where it was taking away from the story... so I decided to make chapter one kinda like a transition between the prologue and the story. At least I have most of chapter two done then, eh? :3

Please let me know what you think, tell me were I need to improve and such, I want to write a good story!

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Healing Heart

Chapter One

A Childhood Ended

13 years - 3 years ago

Hushed whispers quickly spread word of the strange tolerance the inu taiyoukai showed towards the gifted healer's young daughter. The young child, although innocent and naïve, was not oblivious to the whispering voices around her; she asked her mother once or twice why most of the servants gave her confused looks when she passed by, but her mother simply replied by telling her child to pay no mind.

The confusion of the men and women in the castle began the night of her first encounter with Lord Sesshomaru, but only grew as he continued to show a growing tolerance towards her. One night, when the healer was again called to heal Sesshomaru, Kaiya was most excited to see the lord again, and ran to his treatment room (as he didn't allow anyone in his real room) arriving moments before her mother. No sooner than entering the room, the guard that had been escorting the healer confronted the woman about the child's behavior.

"Nozomi, it is not proper for the child to be so wild and unmannerly in Lord Sesshomaru's presence," his raspy voice was low and hushed.

Nozomi and the guard looked over at the child, who was already at the far end of the bed where Sesshomaru sat, her small hands placed on the edge of the bed as she attempted to lift herself up just enough to see. She wore a wide grin on her face, and her large green eyes sparkled with interested at her strange and distant lord.

"The child may do as she pleases." Sesshomaru said in a hard voice upon hearing the guard voice his concern. Kaiya, still too young to comprehend the discussion, just kept smiling.

Nozomi merely smiled at the guard who looked baffled at his lord's tolerance for the child. Regardless, he bowed in respect and slid the door shut as the healer walked over to kneel next to her daughter, placing a kiss on the top of her head before turning her attention to the injured taiyoukai. "What is it you have done this time, Lord Sesshomaru?"

After that night, it seemed that Kaiya very rarely left her mother's side. The story of the cold lord's extended tolerance spread like wildfire, and soon all the other servants were keeping a safe distance from the two females, unsure of how they were to be treated. Kaiya did as her mother said and paid no mind to them. She continued to tag along to each healing, and watched with awe as her mother was able to heal deep wounds so easily.

Every time Nozomi was called to Lord Sesshomaru's side, Kaiya was extra eager to follow. She watched as the lord and her mother bickered back and forth, arguing over simple matters such as which wounds needed tending to. Often times, Sesshomaru insisted she only heal the wounds that were bothersome or would take too long to heal naturally; he had no interest in her healing all of his minor cuts and bruises from battle. But Nozomi insisted, incessantly and with a mother's stubbornness, that she healed them all. In the end, Nozomi usually won, and the inu taiyoukai would brush off such "useless bickering" as being below him, and tell the woman to do as she pleased.

Learning based on observing her mother, Kaiya was also often very outspoken around Lord Sesshomaru. Most of the servants and guards in the castle knew not to question Lord Sesshomaru—and if they didn't know, they learned very quickly. Kaiya learned this quickly as well, although she seemed to have an entirely different view on it. While the servants remained quiet out of fear, Kaiya had simply observed that her lord would never answer her silly questions; so she took to making statements rather than asking questions.

"_I_ think Lord Sesshomaru killed that man because he had funny hair," the young child would say as Nozomi worked to heal his wounds.

Nozomi had quickly become comfortable letting Kaiya be around Lord Sesshomaru with such awful manners, as she promptly observed he had no intentions of killing or harming the girl. The cold and distant lord always seemed indifferent towards the child's presence—as if he didn't care that she was there, but he didn't particularly _want_ her there either. Nozomi knew better than anyone that when it came to Lord Sesshomaru, indifference was as good as patience and acceptance.

Many of the guards and maids simply brushed the tolerance off as Lord Sesshomaru showing respect to the great healer by not harming her daughter. It was often joked or gossiped (never in Sesshomaru's presence, although he had heard the rumor a few times) that Sesshomaru planned on taking Nozomi as a mate, but both knew that was not the case; she thought of his as family, someone she did her best to keep healthy, while he simply viewed her as a greatly respectable woman with motherly instincts, and a close acquaintance. And it was this respect that caused him to be so patient and tolerant with both her and her child.

Whenever Kaiya wasn't allowed to follow her mother, she found herself playing alone in the gardens. While all of the castle's inhabitants remained faultlessly polite to the child, she only truly felt safe and easy around a handful of them. She had specifically taken a liking to an older inu youkai by the name of Kei, a now retired but still loyal guard who spent most of his time tending to the gardens; and it was under his supervision and care that she, for the first time, was able to take a wilting flower and restore life to it.

Feeling immensely proud of herself, she gave the man a hug before picking the flower, a beautiful gold band lily, and ran back into the castle. She skipped down the halls until she was outside the door to Sesshomaru's study, where he was sitting patiently waiting for another taiyoukai to come and discuss an alliance. Kaiya bent down so her knees were against her chest, with all of her weight supported by her little toes, and was about to carefully place the flower in front of the door.

"Come in, child," Sesshomaru said flatly as the scent of the young healer reached his nose. He sensed her slight surprise, although she didn't waste any time with hesitation. She slid the door open just enough to squeeze through, and smiled brightly as she slowly walked up to the taiyoukai.

"My lord, I just brought my first flower to life!" She grinned wider, pleased with herself, "I was going to leave it outside your door as a present!" She bent down and placed it at his feet instead, and jumped right back up to give him a smile of content. She bowed quickly before running back out of the room and down the hall, eager to tell her mother about the flower as well. Upon hearing the story, Nozomi laughed softly as those who overheard shook their heads in disapproval.

As Kaiya grew, she became more and more like her mother. She grew stubborn but polite, and compassionate with a strong sense of right and wrong. Her control over her powers also grew rapidly. Although the first sign of her powers came when she was five, she didn't have any real significant power until she was ten. But by the age of eleven, she could easily heal most minor injuries almost instantly, and by the age of thirteen she could heal numerous types of wounds, and those she couldn't heal, she knew the right mix of natural herbs to speed up the healing process.

Things took a turn for the worse when the castle was attacked by a group of panther demons, eager for revenge on a war that took place hundreds of years ago. Many of the guards and servants were killed, and many more were injured. Sesshomaru was able to kill two of the panther taiyoukai, which was enough to scare off all the others and they retreated into the mountains, where they stayed until much, much later on (although that's an entirely different story). After tending to Sesshomaru's wounds, Nozomi hurried to the healing wing of the castle, where the injured guards and servants were slowly getting worse and worse. Although there were a few trained healers working to save them, Nozomi felt it would be wrong to ignore numbers of injured people when she knew she could help heal them faster, and the working healers were extremely grateful for the help.

It was a long night for everyone. Kaiya was put to bed by Kei, who had decided that for at least the time being he would stand as a night guard for Kaiya and her mother in case of another attack. Sesshomaru stayed out that night, and the next two after it, chasing the panthers as far away as possible, trying to prevent another attack until his castle was at least ready for it.

But it was Nozomi who had the longest night of them all. One by one, she tended to the hurt men and women. The hot, humid, summer air made it hard to breathe and harder to work, and she was drenching in sweat by the time she has been healing for merely an hour. She could feel herself getting weaker and weaker, until finally she had used up all of her strength and passed out. Kei carried her to her room and placed her in her bed, where a maid tended to her as Kaiya slept soundly for the last time in years in the room next door.

Kei was the one who woke her the next morning, and the fourteen year old was smart enough to realize immediately that something was very, very wrong. Kei kept his eyes on hers as he calmly and in a hushed voice explained to her what had happened.

When Sesshomaru came back, the air in the castle was stiff and gloomy with the sour aftertaste of war. Kei was the one who greeted him at the door, dressed as if ready for battle, his shoulders tall and stiff as he took orders.

"Get more guards stationed at the front of the castle, Kei." Sesshomaru spoke harshly, "And send for Nozomi, I require her attention." Sesshomaru brushed past the general, ready to make his way to his treatment room.

"My lord," Kei said calmly and with the greatest amount of respect, which stopped Sesshomaru dead in his tracks. "Nozomi is gone. I will send Kaiya."

A rare moment indeed, Sesshomaru turned to face his general, his eyes widened in shock. It disappeared as he blinked, his eyes returning to their normal blank stare before he turned back to walk into his castle.


	3. Innocence

Sorry it took so long to get this up, I've been working crazy hours this past week. Anyway, thank you to everyone who reads this and follows/favorites/reviews, it means a lot to me!

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Healing Heart

Chapter Two

Innocence

"Rin," Kaiya groans as she places a hand on the girl's arm, "for heaven's sake child, sit still and let me heal you."

"But Kaiya-chan, Rin wishes to play!" Rin whines, but nevertheless sits up straight on the bed and lets Kaiya have access to the cuts on her dainty arms and legs without further complaint.

Kaiya works her way through them swiftly, her gentle and delicate fingers tracing over each cut with ease. She can hardly feel the miniscule amounts of energy leave her each time she heals one, but she knows it's still there, threatening her life if she gives too much, although with such small injuries there is no chance of that. "Rin, this is why when the garden's men tell you _not_ to climb the big tree, you listen."

"Rin is sorry, Kaiya-chan." Rin's bows her head as if she were ashamed of her behavior. The child looks up at her, her dark eyes easily showing her transition of emotion as they light up with innocence. "Rin just wanted to see why the tree wasn't supposed to be climbed!"

At this Kaiya finally lets out a laugh at Rin's innocent trouble making, and holds her hands out to the girl. Rin places her hands in both of Kaiya's, and with her help slips off of the bed without, miraculously, injuring herself.

The night Sesshomaru had come back to the palace with a passed out Rin, carrying her as if she were his own child, there was an uproar of frustration with the servants. No one understood why the taiyoukai had brought a _human_ into his home, and they were outraged that he had brought her into _theirs_. Kaiya didn't necessarily understand either, although she accepted the child into her home the second she saw her dangling in Lord Sesshomaru's arms. Her mother had always said that on the inside, Sesshomaru was a lot softer than he let on. Although Kaiya still found it nearly impossible to believe that the inu taiyoukai was _soft_, she had no doubt that the man was capable of compassion.

He had walked down the halls that night carrying Rin, ignoring all the confused and curious stares his own servants were giving him, until he reached the young healer's room. Without knocking, he quickly opened the door and stepped in, revealing a dark bedroom lit by candlelight and a startled and somewhat annoyed young woman standing by the window.

"You could have knocked," Kaiya's usually sweet voice had held a tint of frustration in it as she pulled her ivory night robe closer to her body, "I could have been dressing for bed, you know."

Sesshomaru paid no mind to the young woman's words and laid the child on the bed. He studied Kaiya's face, waiting to see a look of confusion or anger cross it up realizing that he had dared to bring a human into her home, her room, and her _bed_. But it never came. Instead, concentration washed over her delicate features as she went to the child's side, already knowing her duty. It seemed the child had broken her arm, and although broken bones were not as easy to mend as scrapes and bruises, it did not require much attendance.

Now, many months later, Rin was always finding a way to get hurt around the castle. From climbing trees to slipping while running, it seemed now that Kaiya was more of Rin's personal healer than Sesshomaru's. She didn't mind that, though. She dedicated much of her time to the young girl, finding pleasure in the girl's company. After all, they were both at a similar place of loneliness in the castle; although the servants were very kind and polite to the two girls, both knew that it was an act. Their hatred for Rin stemmed from her humanity, while their disdain for Kaiya, which had faded more and more over the years as she was found helping them out quite a few times, was a result of her privileged treatment in the castle.

Since her mother died three years ago, Kaiya had immediately assumed the role of Lord Sesshomaru's personal and favored healer; a title that left her with not much to do most of the time. Every now and then she was called in to help heal some of the servants, but mostly her duties consisted of healing Rin's minor injuries on an almost daily basis, and tending to Lord Sesshomaru's on a much less frequent basis. This left the young woman free to do as she wished very often, and she was allowed to roam wherever she pleased within the castle's grounds. She was required to attend dinner with Lord Sesshomaru, Rin, Jaken, and the occasional guests each night, and she was expected to be up early each morning, but these things didn't matter to her. She was given a room to herself with a larger and more comfortable bed than any of the other servants, and she was gifted with perfectly suitable clothing.

"Kaiya-chan," Rin addresses the woman, distracting her from her own thoughts, as they leave the room, "Will you come to the hot spring with Rin after dinner?"

Kaiya nods, "Of course I will. Speaking of which, we should probably get you dressed decent enough to even go to dinner." She furrows her eyebrows as if studying the girl, but her voice is laced with tease. Rin giggles and agrees, running to her room with Kaiya chasing after her.

After picking out a suitable outfit for Rin, Kaiya helped the young girl dress before they headed out together to take a walk in the gardens. Side by side, they began walking at a ladylike pace through the halls and out the castle's main door, making their way towards the garden. The second their feet hit the grass though, Rin discarded all of the good manners and behaviors Kaiya had tried to teach her and broke out of her walk to begin skipping next to the healer.

"Kaiya-chan," Rin says in a sing-song voice, "do you know if Rin and Sesshomaru-sama might be leaving again soon?" she asks as they get closer to the garden.

"I do not, Rin," Kaiya replies, "Lord Sesshomaru does not confide such things in me."

Upon reaching the edge of the garden, Rin stops skipping to bend down and take a flower in her hand, the stem resting between her ring and middle fingers, with the petals lying open in her hand. "Rin wishes you could come with us. We visit lots of places!" She giggles, and then presses her nose to the flower and inhales deeply, savoring the sweet scent.

"That sounds very nice, Rin," Kaiya kneels down beside the girl, taking a flower that had not yet bloomed in her hands, "But you know I must stay here to take care of those who get hurt." She says softly as she closes her eyes to concentrate. Opening them again, she watches as the bud blooms to life into a beautiful blue and white flower.

"Oohhh!" Rin stares in awe, "How pretty! Kaiya-chan is truly amazing!"

Kaiya giggles, happy that she is still able to amuse Rin with her powers, "Why thank you, Rin." She breaks the stem of the flower, hearing a crisp _crack_ as she does so, then carefully places the flower in the girl's hair and smiles.

"Kaiya-chan!" Rin squeals with wide eyes, "Rin is most happy! Now Rin can have a flower in her hair just like Kaiya-chan does!"

Kaiya smiles and nods, looking over to Kei, who is currently working on a patch of orange flowers. After her mother had died, Kei had taken to representing a parental figure in her life. He was the one who woke her each day, and each morning he brought with him a freshly picked flower that she would put in her hair for the day. Rin had commented on it often, usually addressing whether or not she liked the flower Kaiya was currently wearing, although the child was so easily pleased it was rare that she _didn't_ like the flower.

"Rin," a familiar voice, smooth with beveled edges, calls out to Rin. Kaiya turns her attention to the source of the voice, to see that his attention was on her as well, his tawny eyes focused on her presence.

"Lord Sesshomaru!" Rin yells, jumping up and skipping happily over to him, a large grin planted on her face. This catches his attention, his eyes moving from Kaiya to Rin as she yells his name. As Kaiya stands up slowly, she again captures the attention of the taiyoukai, and she bows her head in respect. His eyes linger on her for no more than half a second longer before he turns his attention back to Rin.

"It is time to go inside," he states as he looks down at the young girl, "Dinner is ready and there is rain coming." He turns his eyes back to the healer, content that Rin would take such a liking to one of the more trustworthy women in the castle, especially the one who could instantly cure any injury Rin found herself acquiring during her play. He looks at the flower in her hair, and instantly recognizes it; a white lily with yellow gold stripes, a flower too familiar but long forgotten in his eyes. It complements her well today. Her pale golden hair has lost much of its' curl in the past thirteen years, so that it now settled in gentle waves that rolled down her back. Her bangs fell just barely in her eyes—the same bright and sparkling green eyes she had as a small child—and on both sides of her head were small amounts of hair loosely tied back. This is where her flowers always rested, where he always searched for them; the stem sticking under the pulled hair so all the eye could see was the flower itself.

"Okay, Lord Sesshomaru!" Rin smiles happily and begins to skip back to the castle, but quickly and abruptly stops to look back at her two friends. "Come on, Kaiya-chan!"

Kaiya laughs, her gaze leaving Sesshomaru and focusing on Rin, who was still stopped and waiting for her friend. She runs to the little girl, breaking all of her mannerly behaviors, who instantly takes her hand and leads her back to the castle, pulling her along the entire way.

Meanwhile, Sesshomaru waits outside, watching the two girls as they make their way back to the castle. Just as they reach the stairs leading to the front door, the rain begins to fall. He listens to their cheerful laughter slowly get drowned out by the sound of the rain hitting the hard ground. He waits until they are completely inside, safe from the rain, before making his way back into the castle after them.


End file.
